The CDC notes that another factor in the decision [to shorten the isolation period to 5 days] was how the pandemic could affect society, explaining that the "spread of the Omicron variant has the potential to worsen staffing shortages and increase supply chain challenges, which jeopardize industry, education, and other systems that are essential to maintain a functioning society and economy. The pandemic has also had a negative impact on the mental health of adults in the United States, largely due to economic and social concerns."
From a news article from January 2022, right after the CDC changed their isolation guidance after covid infection from 10 days to 5 days
Like I remember the CDC and everyone that supported this saying, basically: Omicron is spreading too fast our vaccines are shit against this variant, so many people are getting sick it's disrupting industry.... we should force people to go to work sick
And I remember being so angry and upset and looking around to see if anyone with any power would push back and then despairing when they didn't.
Now? I'm even angrier. Looking at where that led us, I'm even more furious. Knowing the results of this line of thinking, seeing the numbers of dead and newly disabled, the new variants, and even the almighty economic fucking cost of "early retirements" and "work absenteeism" and "worker shortages" and "people dropping out of the workforce because of disability"? I'm enraged. These are all things we saw coming, these are all things I talked about until I was hoarse and so did so many activists and disabled people and public health experts and epidemiologists and researchers and then nobody listened and here we are. But Biden, currently on his third (at least) covid infection, "ended the pandemic"
Wear a mask. They were fine killing you and your loved ones why would you follow their lead.
I remembered this being the case but with time the details and timelines can get fuzzy, but we have the documents of this timeline, still publicly available:
December 21, 2021: Delta Airlines CEO send a letter to the CDC asking to decrease the recommended isolation from 10 days to 5 because they're losing too much money, echoing the "concerns" of other business people
December 27, 2021: CDC officially changes isolation period after covid infection from 10 days to 5, justifying it in part by the reasoning on my original post
I didn't imagine it, I wasn't being hyperbolic, they truly did change public health policy based exclusively on what CEOs and shareholders wanted and didn't even lie about it. (and it was only the desire of executives and shareholders because in December 23, 2021 the Association of Flight Attendants send a letter to the CDC specifically in response to the CEO letter, asking them to not reduce the isolation period because it would put workers and passengers in danger.)
bosses think you're disposable and so does the state, wear a mask to spite them
